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You Oughta Know...# 3
"So you wanna know how to get more involved with the Guild, eh?"
[Another installment in an occasional series of flyers from your faculty labor union, the Guild]
"Well, I’m interested in becoming a little more involved in the Guild, beyond just attending the monthly meetings. Are there some things I can do that don’t require too much work?"
Glad you asked. There are a variety of short-term committees that the Guild often needs members for, including the Guild election committee (helps count ballots in Guild elections about 3 times a year), the internal audit committee (reviews the Guild’s finances every other year), and the Professors for Quality Education campaign committee (recommends endorsements for the college’s Board of Trustees and helps run our campaign to support the endorsees).
In addition, there occasionally are other political campaigns that the Guild endorses and you can help out with by placing lawn signs, phone banking, precinct walking, etc.. If politics isn’t your bag, you can help produce our employee newsletter Chaparral, whose major funding comes from the Guild. If nothing else, you could volunteer to help write a flyer in this "You Oughta Know" series, educating Guild members about their work environment
"Fair enough, but what if I’m interested in something with a higher level of commitment?"
Well, you could serve as a Guild (or joint Guild/Senate) representative on a campus committee. Many campus committees are in the college’s "governance" structure, but there are also many important committees outside that structure. Appointments are often for a 4-year term, but you can resign in the middle of a term if you need to.
Another good option is to help out with the Guild’s contract negotiations. You might start by volunteering to help out with a taskforce that has been set up at the negotiations table, doing research that enables an agreement to be reached. Or, if you can be free on Thursday afternoons, you might seek to be placed on the negotiations team itself (maybe someday you will become Chief Negotiator!).
"What if I really want to be a leader in the Guild?"
The highest level of commitment would be to run for an elected Guild office: Secretary, Public Information Officer, Grievance Officer, Treasurer, 1st Vice-President, 2nd Vice-President (must be an adjunct faculty member), or President. You would have to be free for the noon to 1 meetings on Thursdays, and willing to perform the duties of the office to which you are elected (go to the Guild website www.glendale.edu/guild and click on the link to the Guild constitution to learn more about those duties).
Don’t be intimidated by this option. Serving as a Guild officer is a great way to learn and, in recent years at least, elections for many offices have been uncontested. Nominations for these elections are taken at the February and March Guild meetings.
"Who should I talk to if I want more information about the various ways to help out?"
Contact our President (who is currently Gordy Alexandre, gordona@glendale.edu) at the Guild office. The phone number for the Guild office is (818) 240-1000, x5395.
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